# Nice Macks Released **URL:** \ **Category:** Utah Fishing General\ **Created:** [June 16, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835 "2009-06-16T22:53:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tarponjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df788c/32.png) [@Tarponjim](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Tarponjim)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/1 "2009-06-16T22:53:58Z")
The fish in the foreground were released. [inline “Foreground double.jpg”] ---
**Author:** ![AFDan52](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/forum.bigfishtackle.com/afdan52/32/53797_2.png) [@AFDan52](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/AFDan52)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/2 "2009-06-16T23:10:25Z")
Thanks TJ, Great job as always. ---
**Author:** ![fishingutefan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dec6dc/32.png) [@fishingutefan](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/fishingutefan)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/3 "2009-06-16T23:13:53Z")
What about the fish caught in the Dory behind you?😲 ---
**Author:** ![christopher30](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@christopher30](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/christopher30)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/4 "2009-06-16T23:14:08Z")
as opposed to…the ones in the background? ---
**Author:** ![One\_eyed\_jack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de053/32.png) [@One\_eyed\_jack](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/One_eyed_jack)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/5 "2009-06-16T23:54:23Z")
Who is that tall ugly one? ---
**Author:** ![Out4Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f04885/32.png) [@Out4Trout](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Out4Trout)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/6 "2009-06-17T00:43:42Z")
🕶Nice macs, Jim and Rich! Thanks for sharing the pic/report. One of these days I’m gonna have the money to do the guided trip… ---
**Author:** ![jacksonlaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7bcc69/32.png) [@jacksonlaker](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/jacksonlaker)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/7 "2009-06-17T01:56:30Z")
Macs released, balls busted !! Good job on the fish and the jab Jim !!! ---
**Author:** ![RILEYFISH](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/user_avatar/forum.bigfishtackle.com/rileyfish/32/53760_2.png) [@RILEYFISH](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/RILEYFISH)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/8 "2009-06-17T03:01:40Z")
There working on a nice freezer burn[;)]🕶 ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Coot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Old\_Coot](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Old_Coot)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/9 "2009-06-17T03:17:34Z")
That looks way fun. Man, I have just got to try that this year. ---
**Author:** ![FISHINMA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d6d6ee/32.png) [@FISHINMA](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/FISHINMA)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/10 "2009-06-17T03:52:18Z")
**Phatt just Phatt!! Nice Captain Jim!!! Those are on my to do list!!** **Smiles Always!** **MA** ---
**Author:** ![muskyhunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8c91f0/32.png) [@muskyhunter](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/muskyhunter)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/11 "2009-06-17T06:09:49Z")
Nice ! Very Nice!!!🕶 ---
**Author:** ![Theekillerbee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Theekillerbee](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Theekillerbee)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/12 "2009-06-17T13:06:47Z")
I think you should have kept the fish and thrown back those guys holding them!!![;)] ---
**Author:** ![Hooter\_Patrol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecc23a/32.png) [@Hooter\_Patrol](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Hooter_Patrol)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/13 "2009-06-17T14:23:02Z")
Nice Job TJ. as always Big fish great guide [;)] You will go down as one of the great guides of Flaming gorge. And as for the other boat he is just followings the laws set by the DWR . If he was braking the law then fine but he is following the laws set by the DWR ( State ) And like I said before I under stand both sides and there is two sides to every story. People need to lighten up, All the guides up at the gorge are all great guys just doing a job and following the laws of the STATE’s It is not are place to condemn other people that are following the laws. just because we have a differences of opinion on how the laws should be, So lets not judge people on that basis, Capt. Steve is a great guy and guide also he is just doing a job as well. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/bigfishtackle/original/3X/1/8/180926762da1240f76b2aed5515c2fc9f63c17e0.png) [@system](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/14 "2009-06-17T15:22:54Z")
B.S. He’s abusing the resource and should let those large macks live. There’s just not a good excuse for killing them. They don’t make decent table fare and if his clients were keeping them for a wall hanger, he wouldn’t be butchering them at the gutting station at the marina. If his clients want some fish for the table, keep a bunch of the smaller macks, or how about throwing a couple lines out for rainbows. You can’t keep them off this time of year. Regardless of what the law says you can keep, there is an unwritten code of ethics when it comes to big macks. Simply put, this guy has no respect for that code. It’s pure selfishness and self aggrandizement on his part. Shame on him… ---
**Author:** ![RDRRM8E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@RDRRM8E](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/RDRRM8E)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/15 "2009-06-17T16:02:09Z")
+1 Having spent considerable time on the Gorge chasing big fish with very skilled mack anglers, we have all come to the opinion they are getting harder and harder to find. Talk to a guy like Captian Jim who makes his living off those big fish. The numbers just ain’t there. Killing 20+ years old fish just rips the resource to shreds. Take a couple everyday and the resource can not replenish itself at that rate. It was a pleasure to release those two fish right in front of that C-Dory and its clients as it trolled by us. They were all out of the cabin admiring those fish being photographed and then released to catch again. ---
**Author:** ![Hooter\_Patrol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecc23a/32.png) [@Hooter\_Patrol](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Hooter_Patrol)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/16 "2009-06-17T16:12:50Z")
He is only one of many that keep the macks, Code of ethices / What ???//[:/] My code of ethices is the law / I personally release all my big macks but I also have two macks on my wall as well . I have one and my wife has one and I know of a lot more macks that are on walls as well, I also keep a few small macks for table fair as well I prefer kokanee on my plate, but a small mack is also okay. and what about all the spawning rainbows that the shore fisherman catch by the dock in the spring and fill there freezers, and that is ethical, but the law says it is, so until the law is changed there is nothing we can do about it . Why don’t you go stand on the boat ramp and check for aquatic nuisance that is going to do more harm than harvesting a few macks . Just my point of view? [;)][fishin] Also I have talked with Steve and he does not push keeping the big macks but the law is the law. ---
**Author:** ![Wyobraz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@Wyobraz](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Wyobraz)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/17 "2009-06-17T16:28:00Z")
Any guide such as Steve who can catch as many big mackinaw as he does, should practice conservation in the form of Catch and Release regardless of what the “Law” says. ---
**Author:** ![Fishhound](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/0ea827/32.png) [@Fishhound](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Fishhound)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/18 "2009-06-17T16:46:06Z")
It was a pleasure to release those two fish right in front of that C-Dory and its clients as it trolled by us. They were all out of the cabin admiring those fish being photographed and then released to catch again. **+1** * * * \*\*Good on you guys and Jim ! Those are some beautiful fish you boated ! And still there for others to appreciate as well. Kudos for keeping the resource in focus. I also know that for Jim it is not just a business, it’s more of a passion about the fish. \*\* * * * **I would think that at some point the law will be changed - as you suggest, it is a finite resource that can’t be tapped forever.** * * * \*\*Until such time when the regulations are officially addressed, I don’t know how anyone could be expected to abide by my personal code of ethics. \*\* * * * **Perhaps when those clients saw how you released the fish, they were impressed enough to pass it on to others.** ---
**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex028/uploads/bigfishtackle/original/3X/1/8/180926762da1240f76b2aed5515c2fc9f63c17e0.png) [@system](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/19 "2009-06-17T17:13:52Z")
Your points of argument don’t really warrant a reply. The rainbows can sustain the harvest, as can the kokanee. The LARGE mack’s, however, CANNOT! … Edited out comments (FishHound) \*\*[Reminder](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/forum/Utah_Fishing_Forum_C55/Utah_Fishing_General_F58/gforum.cgi?post=501838;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;page=unread#unread) \*\* [#0060bf]BFT is a family friendly place. One where people can come and enjoy discussion of their favorite activity. As moderators, one of our responsibilities is to make sure that every person can do so without the need to feel like they have to defend themselves, or expect a response to a thread or post that is some kind of attack of a personal nature, a response that is directed at their integrity, or a response that is spiteful and only intended to elicit an angry reply. We all enjoy a good discussion and we at BFT encourage healthy discourse - even about controversial topics related to fishing. It is perfectly acceptable to disagree and post an opinion to the contrary. However, it is not acceptable to badger, bully, harass, or pursue an individual… [/#000000] Tight lines… ---
**Author:** ![Hooter\_Patrol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecc23a/32.png) [@Hooter\_Patrol](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/u/Hooter_Patrol)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835/20 "2009-06-17T17:30:54Z")
Okay guys, I totally agree with what you are saying and I also release all my big macks as well but until the law is changed there is nothing we can do, I also know of alot of other guys that catch alot of big macks and don’t release them, but the only way it will change is to have the law changed? All I am saying is you can’t condemn someone that is following the laws that is put in place buy the State. I also under stand that it takes 40 - 50 - 60 years for the macks the get that big and we should treat them with respect and release them. And I think what capt. Jim does do it the way it should be done and yes it is ethical to release the big macks, So instead of fitting and getting all upset on the forum you should work on getting the DWR to change the law. And I also believe that maybe guides shouldn’t be able to keep the big macks on there boats but the law has to be changed first!!! But as fellow fisherman it is not are place to condemn someone that is following the law that is in place even if we don’t believe in it are selves. ??? [Next page](https://forum.bigfishtackle.com/t/nice-macks-released/151835.md?page=2)